American TV series: Starting with exploiting young Sheldon

Although Mike and Katie had already made up their minds, seeing Regina's enthusiastic manner, they nodded and accepted her kindness.

……

In the afternoon, Mike, as he had agreed with Ms. Sharon, accompanied Katie to the math Olympiad study room.

Compared to the students outside who were cramming at the last minute, the members of the math Olympiad team seemed quite relaxed.

There's a saying that's very true: with math, you either know it or you don't.

Those who made it into the math Olympiad team are clearly not lacking in intelligence. As long as they aren't lazy, they'll naturally excel in other subjects as well.

Therefore, for the members of the math Olympiad team, the final exams weren't a big deal. Instead, the math Olympiad competition at the end of the semester was what they cared about more.

In this relatively relaxed atmosphere, Ms. Sharon carried a large stack of materials into the study room.

When she saw Mike arrive at the classroom as promised, she nodded in satisfaction and said, "I hope the upcoming intensive training for the math Olympiad team won't affect your final exams."

The math Olympiad team members, all academic high-achievers, rarely saw their teacher, Sharon, joking around, so they all smiled knowingly.

"Alright, I won't say any more." Soon, Professor Sharon got into mentor mode: "Kevin, come up and distribute these materials to everyone."

"Happy to help~" Kevin, still dressed in a hip-hop style, smiled as he stood up and took the documents.

After everyone received the materials, Ms. Sharon explained, "The materials you have are a collection of questions from previous years' math Olympiad competitions. Over the next two weeks, I need you to do a more in-depth study of the knowledge points in the materials."

After instructing everyone on their learning tasks for the next two weeks, Ms. Sharon called out names individually: "Mike, Katie~"

"Arrived~"

"At~"

Both of them looked up at the podium at the same time.

"The rules for this year's math Olympiad have changed. In addition to the first round's round-robin format, the second round will feature a 'sudden death' format, a one-on-one buzzer-beater competition where one question determines the winner..."

After introducing the new competition format, Ms. Sharon looked at Mike and Katie and continued, "As new faces this year, you are likely to be chosen by people from other schools to participate in the sudden death challenge."

Therefore, I want you to make more thorough preparations over the next two weeks. As for any points in the materials that you don't fully understand, feel free to ask me anytime…”

Because of last year's math Olympiad, Melford High School lost to Marymont College by a narrow margin in the final round of the competition.

Therefore, Ms. Sharon, who wanted to redeem herself, attached great importance to this year's math Olympiad.

Also because of the new competition format, she has high expectations for the two new team members, Mike and Katie.

"Don't worry, Ms. Sharon, I won't let you down in this competition~" Katie immediately assured her teacher after sensing her expectations.

In the previous flyer incident, the girl did something that offended Ms. Sharon.

Although Ms. Sharon did not blame the girl after that incident.

However, feeling guilty, Katie still wanted to make up for some of the mistakes she had made before with her performance in this competition.

Seeing the girl's energetic appearance, Ms. Sharon on the podium nodded with satisfaction.

“I’m fine with it too.” Mike then said confidently, “Hopefully, in the sudden death format, other schools won’t pick me.”

Although it sounds a bit like Versailles, Mike really has the confidence to back it up; no one can beat him in the International Mathematical Olympiad.

……

Chapter 207 School Dance

Another week has passed, and with students' enthusiasm for learning continuing to rise, the school's final exams for this year have arrived.

After two days of dull final exams, smiles gradually returned to the students' faces.

After all, it takes several days for the school to compile the students' grades after the final exams and then send the report cards to each student's home.

So regardless of their final grades, students will at least have a comfortable first few days of vacation.

"Mike, you're amazing!" On the way home after the exam, a relaxed George exclaimed in admiration, "The key points you highlighted for me this time were basically all on the exam."

Knowing he wasn't doing well in school, young George had asked Mike, a good student, for help before the final exams.

Having experienced the "sea of ​​questions" approach and knowing how to handle exams, Mike, based on his experience, marked the key points for each subject in advance for his partner.

The results looked pretty good. With Mike's intelligence, the overlap between the key points he marked in each subject and the test results was over 80%.

This situation is essentially putting the original question right in front of George.

So, if George, who got the "answers" to the exam in advance, didn't slack off during the week or so he spent studying, he should have no problem passing this time.

"Judging from your expression, you must have done well on the exams," Mike asked with a smile. "How about it? Can you guarantee you'll pass all the subjects?"

It's clear that Mike was in a good mood because he was able to help the other person.

“This…” Upon hearing the question, George’s expression froze.

Clearly, for some struggling students, even if the original answer is presented to them, they still won't know it.

This is probably the situation for young George right now.

Mike's highlighted points can only guarantee that he will see many familiar questions during the exam; as for the accuracy rate, well, that's another story.

Judging from the current situation, if little George, after receiving help, can pass one or two subjects, he should be extremely grateful.

Mike, standing to the side, and Sheldon, following behind, could tell from George's reaction that he must have messed up his exam again.

"I knew it. If your foundation isn't solid, giving you the answers won't help," said Sheldon Jr. with a serious expression.

Actually, George had asked him for help before the final exams.

However, Sheldon's approach was to first solidify the foundation and then fill in any gaps.

This method is a good suggestion for people who want to learn, but for little George, who doesn't like to study, it takes too much time and energy and is tantamount to killing him.

So when George Jr. heard Sheldon's suggestion, he rejected it.

Now, seeing the person who came up with that "unreliable" idea dare to mock him, little George angrily snapped, "Shut up! This is none of your business!"

Seeing George's ungrateful attitude, Sheldon, who was behind him, snorted and said nothing more.

Actually, George is feeling conflicted right now, and he's also a little regretful. If he had known that Mike's predictions were so accurate, he would have definitely studied harder before.

Of course, it's all hindsight now.

Not wanting to continue on this heavy and awkward topic, little George quickly changed the subject, saying, "Mike, have you decided on a dance partner for the school's year-end dance tomorrow?"

Every year before the winter break, the school holds a large year-end dance.

While allowing students to relax, the dance also selects the school's most popular boys and girls of the year.

This boy and girl will be given the titles of "King" and "Princess".

Similarly, these two will become the school's representatives for the following year.

Although the "king" and "princess" chosen by the school have no real power, being the most popular person among the students is a great honor in itself.

Therefore, students who have the opportunity to win this honor will do everything they can to garner votes for themselves on the day of the ball.

In George's opinion, Mike, who has had many highlights this year, has a good chance of becoming the school's "King" this year.

“Tomorrow I’m going to the high school math Olympiad with Ms. Sharon and the others. As for the school dance, I probably won’t have time to go.” Mike said.

"Are you serious?" George asked in surprise.

In his subconscious, the importance of that math Olympiad league was nowhere near as important as becoming "King".

Seeing the other person's serious expression, George sighed and continued, "That's a pity. If you can dance the first dance with Regina tomorrow, you'll definitely become the 'King'."

"Queen Bee" was already a focal point at school thanks to her powerful charm.

Last year, she won the title of "princess" with a high number of votes thanks to her beauty.

Judging from this year's situation, barring any unforeseen circumstances, "Queen Bee" will definitely be able to maintain her record.

As for Mike, he's definitely a star student at school this year. If he can interact with the "Queen Bee" again tomorrow, becoming the "King" will be a sure thing.

This is something little George never even dared to dream of.

Mike, who should have easily secured this honor, is now about to hand it over to someone else because of some math competition.

This approach would naturally make little George feel very sorry.

Just as he was lamenting that Mike had missed such a great opportunity to shine.

Unlike most people, Sheldon, who was focused on something different, suddenly lit up and asked, "Mike, can I go with you to the math Olympiad tomorrow?"

The school's year-end dance was not mandatory for students to attend, and outcasts like Sheldon and Dan naturally had little interest in dances that required socializing.

Compared to the "boring" dance, young Sheldon was clearly more interested in the math Olympiad.

“No problem, you can come with me to the math Olympiad tomorrow,” Mike replied.

There are no restrictions on outsiders visiting regional math Olympiad competitions.

On the contrary, because the math olympiad competition is rather boring, very few people other than the math olympiad team go to watch it live.

Moreover, Sheldon is practically an unofficial member of the Melford Math Olympiad team, so going to watch a math Olympiad competition is no big deal for him.

Moreover, Ms. Sharon, who is planning to bring Sheldon into the math Olympiad team next year, would certainly be very happy to see his enthusiasm for math Olympiad competitions.

"Then don't forget to call me tomorrow." Even after receiving permission, Sheldon still reminded him with some unease.

"OK~" Mike replied again.

Nearby, little George, who gets dizzy whenever he sees math, shook his head speechlessly after hearing Mike and Sheldon's conversation.

He simply couldn't understand why someone would refuse the school dance but be interested in that math Olympiad competition.

……

The next morning, when Mike hitched a ride with George to school, the campus was already filled with students dressed in their finest attire.

Clearly, the students are very enthusiastic about the school's large year-end party.

"Hi, Mike~" At the school gate, Regina, wearing a beautiful long dress and a small flower wreath on her head, spotted Mike's arrival at a glance.

Beside her stood two others, Karen and Gretchen, both dressed in long gowns and with elaborate makeup.

Not far from the three girls, Regina's mother, Ms. Ashe, was holding a camera, preparing to film a documentary about her daughter.

The girls, who already knew that Mike was going to participate in the math competition today, waited for him at the school gate.

Clearly, they were planning to shoot a memorable video with Mike on this rather special day.

"Good... a little closer... keep smiling... just like that..."

When Mike arrived, Aisha directed him to pose with the girls in various ways.

After shooting a series of videos, Mike took some couple photos with each of the girls before seeing them off. These girls, who only cared about looking pretty and didn't care about the temperature, were now gone.

"Mike, are you really not going to the prom?" After Mike saw the three girls off, little George came over.

He was still somewhat unwilling to give up. Although he himself could not become "King", seeing his friend become "King" was something to be happy about.

"Alright, you should go inside too, don't get cold outside," Mike said bluntly.

Also for the sake of style, George wore the black suit he bought for Christmas.

His outfit looked very cold, especially since the snow hadn't melted yet.

Chapter 208 Math Olympiad (Continued)

After seeing George off again, Mike took Sheldon to a bus where they met with Ms. Sharon and the others.

"Look who's here! Our ace Mike, and the super genius Sheldon..." Captain Kevin, still dressed in his flamboyant hip-hop style, looked extremely excited today.

Before he could continue his antics, Teacher Sharon said, "Everyone's here, let's head out. Getting to the site sooner will give us more time to prepare."

Ms. Sharon seemed more serious than usual today.

The year-end math Olympiad is organized by the education authorities and divided into many competition zones according to different regions.

To ensure fairness, each competition zone will also have eight teams selected based on their educational resources.

Therefore, it's unlikely that an ordinary public high school like Melford would compete against an elite high school in Houston.

Furthermore, the champion of each region will receive an extra credit when applying to university.

Therefore, to some extent, the annual International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) can be seen as a good opportunity for students in ordinary high schools to win better university admission offers.

At Melford High School, after all the members of the math Olympiad team and Sheldon, the special spectator, had boarded the bus, Ms. Sharon explained the competition schedule to everyone.